Process of impregnating carbon electrodes



, proved that or'ro ALFRED LAUBI, or BREUIL,

Patented 0a. 21,1930- NEAR. CUISE LAMOTT E, FRANCE, ASS IGNOR 'I'O BOZEL MALETBA, SOOIE'IE mnusrnrnnnn, 1m raonorrs cnnumuns, or rams, FRANCE,

A CORPORATION OF FRANCE raocass or rmraneuarme cannon moraonns No Drawing. Application filed September 10, 1929, Serial No. 391,702, and 111 mime December 21, 1928.

As is known in the art, for impregnating genized either by substitution or by addition A carbon electrodes and in particular those destined to serve for the electrolysis of alkaline salts, higher saturated hydrocarbons having a high fusion point have above all been employed up to the present, such as parafii'n (fusion point =70-80). But it has been electrodes impregnated with such hydrocarbons, in general. and parafiin in particular, always undergo a relatively considerable loss in impregnating agent during electrolysis and in spite of the care exer cised during impregnation, all of which leads to an appreciable attack on the electrode.

Researches have permitted to take into account, in the case of electrolysis of solutions ofalkaline chlorides, that this loss was due ]too a partial chloridization of the hydrocar- This chloridization leads to the formation of chloride compounds either by substitution or by addition and substitution, de ending upon whether a saturated hydrocar on has been employed'or not, and at thesame time there is a formation, for each molecule of chlorine absorbed by substitution, a molecule of chlorhydric gas. Said chlorhydric gas by becomin disengaged in the very heart of the hydrocar on, dlsaggregates the layer therein and renders it porous. At the same time, due to its relatively large volume, it drives out the hydrocarbon towards the surface of the electrode. This action becomes more facilitated by increasing the volume sustained by the hydrocarbon during its transformation into a halogen compound. There is therefore aided, when the impregnation agent is paraffin, for example, a veritable deparaffination of the electrode, which deparaflination may cause a loss as high as 30% of the quantity of raw parafiin.

The present invention seeks to eliminate this loss of impregnating agent and to thus appreciably increase the life of the electrodes.

In this end I have conceived thidea of I employing, for impregnating the electrodes,

higher hydrocarbons, saturated or unsaturated, having been partially or totally halo para and substitution.

For example, I may utilize as an impregnatin agent a higher hydrocarbon of the series, havlng a number of, atoms of carbon equal or superior to 20, for example,

and chlorinated up to a content of 20% or more of chlorine. A

Byproceeding further with the --iinpregnation, as "described in the French patent of April 19, 1928, carbon electrodes, nate completely all loss by sweating of the impregnating agent they are in use.

for Improvements in Having described my invention what I 7 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A process of impregnating carbon electrodes destined for use in the electrolysis I can practically elimiduring the whole time of alkaline chlorides, which. comprises partially halogenizing a hydrocarbon by substitution and utilizing said halogenized hydrocarbon as an impregnating agent.

2. A process of impregnating carbon electrodes destined for use in the electrolysis of alkaline chlorides, which comprises partially halogenizing a saturated hydrocarbon by substitution and utilizing said halogenized hydrocarbon as an impregnating agent.

trodes destined for use in the electrolysis of alkaline chlorides, which comprises partially 3. A process of impregnating carbon elechalogenizing a hydrocarbon bysubstitution and addition and utilizing said haloge'nized hydrocarbon as an impregnating agent.

4. A process of impregnating carbon elec-" trodes destined for use in the electrolysis of alkaline chlorides, which comprises totally halogenizing a hydrocarbon by substitution and'utilizing said'halogenized hydrocarbon as an impregnating agent.

5. A rocess of impregnating carbon elecestined .for use in the electrolysis of alkaline chlorides, which comprises totally trodes alkaline chlorides, which comprises totally halogenizing a hydrocarbon by substitution and addition and utilizing said halogenized hydrocarbon as an impregnating agent.

5 7. A process of impregnating carbon elec trodes destined for use in the electrolysis of alkaline chlorides, which comprises partially halogenizing a hydrocarbon of the paraifin series containing not less than 20 atoms of carbon to a halogen content of not less than 20% and utilizing said halogenized hydrocarbon as an impregnating agent.

8. A process of impregnating carbon electrodes destined for use in the electrolysis of alkaline chlorides, which comprises partially halogenizing a hydrocarbon of the parafiin series containing not less than atoms of carbon to a halogen content of not 20 less than 20% by substitution and addition and utilizing said halogenized hydrocarbon as an impregnating agent.

9. A process of impregnating carbon electrodes destined for use in the electrolysis of alkaline chlorides, which comprises partially halogenizing paraflin by substitution and addition and utilizing said halogenized parafiin as an impregnating agent.

10. A process of impregnating carbon electrodes destined for use in the electrolysis of alkaline chlorides, which comprises total- 1y halogenizing parafiin by substitution and addition and utilizing said halogenized parafiin as an impregnating agent.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

OTTO ALFRED LAUBI. 

